Aust PM hints door is still open for Huawei

Just months after it declared Huawei a security threat, the Australian government now appears to be inviting the Chinese vendor back into the market.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has encouraged the company to "seek opportunities to grow its commercial business in Australia,” according to a Huawei account of her meeting with Huawei chairwoman Sun Yafang in Beijing on Tuesday.

In a press conference later, Gillard was less effusive, simply stating that Huawei was a major employer and had a substantial business in Australia.

But Gillard’s private meeting with Sun, at the end of a series of high-profile meetings with Chinese leaders, suggests the government has not closed the door on the Chinese firm, even though it has been ruled out of the NBN project.

Australia is significant because it is a junior partner in the US-led security alliance and is the only country other than the US to have blocked Huawei from major contracts on security grounds.

In Britain, the biggest US ally, Huawei is helping BT roll out its fibre network. A UK parliamentary committee review of Huawei, due to conclude by last Christmas, appears not to have made any adverse findings.

In another win for Huawei in a country close to the US, it yesterday was awarded Telecom NZ's major LTE contract, replacing 3G supplier Alcatel-Lucent.

A quick guide to s how Huawei stacks up among key agencies in the US and its allies:

FOR: White House, UK government, NZ government

AGAINST: US Congress, Pentagon, MI5, ASIO

UNDECIDED: Australian government, Canadian government.